Kiefer and Donald Sutherland share the screen in this brooding western about an embittered gunslinger who attempts to make amends with his estranged father whilst their community is besieged by ruthless land-grabbers.

Forsaken

Jon Cassar

Bringing together two generations of a legendary
acting dynasty, this riveting, bloody,
and moving western stars Donald Sutherland
and Kiefer Sutherland as a long-estranged
father and son attempting to make amends
whilst their community is besieged by ruthless
land-grabbers.

After years of wandering and making a
name for himself as a formidable quick-draw
gunfighter, Civil War veteran John Henry
Clayton (Kiefer Sutherland) quietly returns
to his hometown. Weary of his years of violence,
John Henry is determined to lay down
his guns for good. John Henry's father, the
Reverend William Clayton, resolutely condemns
his son's past and is skeptical of his
pledge to reform. "I don't know if a man can
get away from who he is," says the reverend.
As father and son bear witness to a murderous
gang's appropriation of local properties
— including that of John Henry's long-lost
love, Mary Alice (Demi Moore) — John
Henry is faced with an onerous existential
dilemma. Is it better to turn the other cheek
or to use his deadly talents to dispose of
the villains — led by powerful landlord and
saloon keeper McCurdy (Brian Cox) — who
are corrupting the town?

Recalling such classics of the genre as
Unforgiven, Forsaken poses complex moral
questions as it escalates in suspense and
mayhem. John Henry alternately displays
tenderness and cold-blooded skill, while
Reverend Clayton comes to realize that his
stern moral code does not necessarily offer
salvation. Forsaken offers thrilling action
and gorgeous pastoral vistas (Alberta, standing
in for 1872 Wyoming), but at its core it's a
universal tale of arduous familial reconciliation
— brought to life by a real-life father and
son who just happen to be two of the screen's
finest living talents.